ID pulleys on Voight-Kampff machine

[Buch]

I'm trying to ID the metal pulleys on the arm of the Voight-Kampff machine... any ideas what they might be?

 

[Prefect42]

I wonder if they might have come from a tape deck or a record player.

It's been years since I took apart a tape deck but seem to remember a belt driven set of wheels to turn the spindles of the cassette.

I seem to remember reading in "Future Noir" that the original machine fell apart when they showed it to Ripley. The one we see in the film (And later modified for shooting in England for close-ups on the monitors) was built by EEG over a weekend or some such insanely tight schedule.

Ted.

 

[TazMan2000]

If you take an old IDE CD ROM drive apart you might be able to find aluminum pulleys.

TazMan2000

 

[Buch]

Interesting ideas! I'll look into that :thumbsup

 

[belloq]

Perhaps parts from a vintage Xerox copy machine?

 

[airhead]

Yes. I was thinking copier machine.

 

[mugatu]

If Bapty's was involved at all, I'd look into J.A. Michel and Transcriptors' vintage turntables.

 

[nick daring]

The shots from the film are pretty good reference as well. Good detail.

 

[Buch]

WOW! Great ideas! Thanks guys...
nick daring: Thanks for the shots!

 

[Prefect42]

I keep wondering if the parts were custom machined.

I worked at BOSS FILM STUDIOS, which Richard Edlund built up from EEG, Entertainment Effects Group. I understand that he bought not only the facility, but a good deal of equipment, when Doug Trumbull sold it.

BOSS had a nice machine shop as they had to custom build equipment. I'm certain with Trumbull's background they too had quite a machine shop. The pieces could well have been custom made.

On the other hand, I've always wondered if the arm on the VK wasn't borrowed off of something. A high end turn table was always on the top of my list. Although why would it need to telescope?

Interesting discussion we have going on here.

Ted.

 

[Buch]

I keep wondering if the parts were custom machined.

Yes, very possible... looking at the different photos the pulleys don'y look that intricate... something a skilled craftsmen could make relatively easy... maybe this is also the way to go, when I need to replicate them...?

 

[Birdie]

http://www.motionco.co.uk/pulleys-belts-round-belt-pulleys-c-25_37.html

 

[Buch]

Thanks for sharing, Birdie! Hmmm... the upside face of the pulleys isn't visible in the pictures, you think they are flat?

http://www.motionco.co.uk/pulleys-belts-round-belt-pulleys-c-25_37.html

 

[Birdie]

Thanks for sharing, Birdie! Hmmm... the upside face of the pulleys isn't visible in the pictures, you think they are flat?

Dunno :lol

Sadly, I think a lot about the original VK will always be guesswork. Still, the reference we have now is better than just a few years ago, when I started my build. The pulleys I posted are just a suggestion, I think they could work out so long as you built the arm to accomodate them.

The pulleys on my build are non-functional and were laser-cut from reflective acrylic, which is then sanded to resemble polished aluminium. I went through a 'I just wanna finish this damn thing' phase, so I cut a few corners to get it done. You can obsess about this prop forever, and die of old age before ever getting anything done

That said, I look forward to seeing your build progress, Anders, and the best of luck!

 

[Buch]

Sadly, I think a lot about the original VK will always be guesswork .... You can obsess about this prop forever, and die of old age before ever getting anything done

That said, I look forward to seeing your build progress, Anders, and the best of luck!

I think you're absolutely right! To avoid too much stress and frustration I've made this a long term project... as in years! One little detail at a time...

Thanks for the link to the pulleys, I will definitely check them out :thumbsup

At the moment I'm working on the displays...